Sun Tzu said "Know your opponent". He just said it with funny looking 'scribblins.
Some things to be aware of: That corn field you pass is the least of your worries. YOU see them in fields, but densities tend to run at dramatically lower levels where people can, and do, hunt the animals. This tends to be more typical behavior in rural areas. Your area may be different, but this list tends towards people who leave their own neighborhood on occasion.
Depending on where you live and which biologist you believe, optimal deer densities "should" run 15-30 deer per square mile in temperate climates with sufficient vegetation.
Here where I live in PA for example, Valley Forge National Park, which is basically in the the city of Philadelphia, supports approx 241/sq mile (1277 deer) http://www.nps.gov/vafo/
In the forests of the Allegheny where riders and cagers alike tend to be most aware because it is "deer country", the numbers approach 5/sq mile. (http://www.portal.state.pa.
This study (http://digitalcommons.unl.
Deer movement biology also plays a significant role and we are getting to that time of year people. In the same study above, October nearly triples the chance of strike (13.87% of monthly strikes), while November (25.91%) has it go up by nearly a factor of 5. They are looking for love in all the wrong places.
Everyone has, or should have, their own strategy. After a number of years pursuing these buggers and studying them up close and personal on crisp October mornings, I have my own thoughts which may draw great derision, but have worked for me after a couple unscheduled pit stops at the body shop back in the day. YMMV
1. If there is a deer in the road, and you ponied up for ABS, see if it works. Practice makes perfect.
2. Deer evolved over millions of years as prey animals. It's pretty rare for a prey animal to just stand there and let the predator git 'em. If they are standing in the road in my lane, I aim for them (where they were) during my abs checkout. In my opinion, it is much more likely they will move than stay stationary. I don't know the actual odds, I made up my own at 90-10. Whether they move left or right has a number of factors beyond your control, odds are 50-50 regardless. Guess wrong and you are out of position and luck. While I am not advocating running them over, I personally believe my chances are greater in the odds of fight vs flight than the coin toss of left and right. You have a better chance of improving your sense of smell then matching reflexes.
3. I am most fearful of deer in the opposite lane. The tendency is to run towards their bedding area. They don't wear a tag which lets you know which side the Holiday Inn is on.
4. Previous comment about head up vs down has merit in my book. That can change pretty quick though. I am still on my brakes, but not to an ABS checkout level.
5. The deer you hit back in the day was not stupid just standing there. They appear (to me) to have a hard time judging speeds that do not occur in nature from predators. Deer are fast, but rely more-so on their agility. A dog will catch a deer every time in a race in the open. Deer have very little stamina. They survive by playing the angles game with tremendous reflexes and evasiveness with an unbelievable initial burst of speed. wait...Wait....WAIT...NOW! and they hope you blow right by them as they make their turn, not leaving the predator the time to react to it, thus wasting the predators energy by passing and requiring a 180 to resume pursuit. Unfortunately, you blow through them when you are 30mph in excess of what their experience has taught them and catch them at the second wait. If you get the chance some day, go out in the woods and sit there where there are a lot of deer, watch how they react when dogs or a bobcat come through. Unless they smell them from far away, in my experience they wait for the predator to make the first move, putting them off balance. For NFL fans, see old Barry Sanders highlight reels, and yes, it is OK to make the Chris Berman sound effects.
6. When on the motorcycle I use my size to my advantage if I can. I am only 25-30% as wide a target on the bike as I am in my truck. Try and maximize that advantage, because you don't have the protection advantage of a cage, that and braking are your safety net. Turn your side to them and now you are as wide as a car and have doubled or tripled your surface area without the protection. (I saw some of your bikes at the meet, you may need to factor up a little...)
7. I dislike following the rabbit closely. I prefer soft carnage I can see, rather than spinning soft carnage mixed with spinning steel carnage I can't react to until the last second.
8. Except for mature bucks (big antlers) and yearling males (tiny antlers) in the fall, deer are very rarely alone. Don't watch the one that already crossed, watch his/her kid(s)/friend(s)/lover(s) following in their footsteps.
9. Sometimes, stuff happens. ATGATT
Be careful out there.
No comments:
Post a Comment